The reality of working for Facebook - BBC

Summary

The video script highlights a company culture that thrives on innovation and embraces failure, exemplified by regular hackathons where the 'like' button was born. Facebook's unique approach to employee engagement includes two birthdays, family days, and pride events with celebrity inspirations. The company's focus is on community building and social value rather than profit, with a mission to connect the world and tackle global issues. With an impressive recruitment strategy, Facebook is rapidly hiring engineers to drive future growth, offering a 6-week boot camp and job flexibility to ensure alignment with the company's values and impact.

Takeaways

• 🏆 The organization values innovation and risk-taking, with regular hackathons to encourage new ideas.
• 🎂 Employees celebrate two birthdays: their own and their 'face-versary', marking their time with the company.
• 🏢 The company culture includes family-friendly events and pride celebrations, aiming to inspire and connect employees.
• 🚲 The campus features amenities like bikes, shops, and an arcade, all free to help employees focus on their work.
• 🌐 The company's mission is to connect the world and address global problems, with a focus on social value.
• 💼 The company is rapidly hiring engineers, with over 10,000 people hired in the last year and plans to double in size.
• 🌟 New employees, called 'noobs', undergo a 6-week boot camp to understand the company's departments and culture.
• 🔍 Employees are encouraged to choose their own projects, focusing on problems they care about, which can lead to departmental pitches.
• 👥 The company's approach is unique, with engineers driving change rather than managers dictating it from above.
• 💰 Despite having a revenue of over fifty-five billion dollars, the company prioritizes community and social impact over profit.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the 24-hour lock-in event known as a hackathon?

The hackathon is an event where staff are encouraged to innovate and try new ideas. It is a platform for employees to develop and test new concepts, such as the like button, which was developed during one of these events.

How often do these hackathons occur?

These hackathons occur every few months, with each office getting together for their own 24-hour lock-in.

What is the significance of having two birthdays for employees?

Employees have two birthdays: their own and their 'face-versary,' which is the anniversary of their joining the company. This is a way to celebrate their personal and professional milestones within the organization.

What kind of events does the company organize to engage the workforce?

The company organizes events such as bring your family to work days, pride events, and even invites celebrities to inspire the workforce.

What is the company's approach to employee benefits and facilities?

The company provides a small village with bikes, shops, and an arcade, all free for employees to use. This is to ensure that everyone can focus on their work and the mission of connecting the world.

What is the current hiring rate for engineers at the company?

The company is hiring more engineers at a staggering rate, with over 10,000 people hired in the last year and 50 new engineers arriving in London every week.

How does the company view the role of engineers in its operations?

Engineers are seen as the drivers of change in the company, rather than managers passing the change downwards. This is a significant shift in the typical corporate structure.

What is the company's revenue and how does it influence their recruitment strategy?

With a revenue of over fifty-five billion dollars, the company has the financial power to attract the best engineers globally, using a unique approach to recruitment.

What is the term used for new employees and what is the process they go through?

New employees are called 'noobs' and they go through a 6-week boot camp where they are introduced to various departments and allowed to choose where they want to work.

How does the company handle the issue of inappropriate content and potential harm on its platform?

The company is aware of the challenges of people trying to reach out to minors for inappropriate purposes and signals that something terrible might happen. They are working on addressing these issues to ensure the safety and integrity of their platform.

What is the company's primary focus in terms of product decisions and community impact?

The company is designed to create communities and let those communities make a difference in the world. They focus on whether each product decision does good in the world, with money being a secondary consideration.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Innovative Culture and Employee Celebrations

This paragraph introduces an organization that fosters innovation and embraces failure, exemplified by regular hackathons where employees are encouraged to develop new ideas. The company's unique culture is highlighted by celebrating two birthdays for each employee, one personal and one for their 'face-versary', indicating the date they joined Facebook. The company also organizes family days, pride events, and brings in celebrities to inspire the workforce. Additionally, the company provides a village-like environment with free amenities for employees, emphasizing a focus on global connectivity and problem-solving. The rapid hiring of engineers is noted, with the expectation that these new recruits will drive the company's future growth and innovation.

🛠️ Emphasis on Constructive Feedback and Social Value

The paragraph discusses the company's philosophy of treating feedback as a gift and the importance of giving constructive criticism without showing off. The company's mission is to connect people and bring social value through their products, with every product decision being evaluated on its potential to do good in the world. The company's revenue and its focus on hiring top engineers are mentioned, emphasizing the scale of impact that changes made within the company can have globally. The recruitment process for new employees, referred to as 'noobs', is described, including a 6-week boot camp and the opportunity for new hires to choose their department based on their interests and the company's needs.

👥 Employee Empowerment and Responsibility

This section highlights the company's culture of empowerment, where employees are given the responsibility to make the company better or worse through their actions and decisions. The importance of not tolerating self-promotion and focusing on the collective good is emphasized. The company's structure is described as one where engineers drive change, rather than managers dictating from the top down, which is a significant cultural difference from other companies. The scale of the company's operations is underscored, with the understanding that even small changes can have a significant impact due to the vast reach of the platform.

Keywords

💡Hackathon

A hackathon is an event, typically lasting between a day and a week, in which a large number of people meet to engage in collaborative computer programming. In the context of the video, hackathons are used as a platform for employees to innovate and try new ideas. The script mentions that Facebook employees participate in these events every few months, which is where they came up with the 'like' button, illustrating the company's culture of embracing failure and rewarding risk.

💡Innovation

Innovation refers to the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. The video emphasizes the importance of innovation within Facebook, where employees are encouraged to try new ideas during hackathons. This culture of innovation is crucial for the company's growth and its ability to stay ahead in the tech industry.

💡Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service launched in 2004, operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. The video discusses Facebook's unique corporate culture and its focus on connecting people. It highlights the company's initiatives like hackathons, employee benefits, and its mission to create communities that make a difference in the world.

💡Like Button

The 'like' button is a feature on Facebook that allows users to express their approval or enjoyment of a post. The script mentions that this feature was developed during a hackathon at Facebook, showcasing how the company fosters innovation and the impact of such initiatives on their product development.

💡Employee Benefits

Employee benefits are non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their salaries or wages. The video describes various benefits offered by Facebook, such as two birthdays, bring your family to work days, and pride events. These benefits aim to create a supportive and inclusive work environment, which is part of the company's broader strategy to attract and retain top talent.

💡Engineers

Engineers in this context refer to professionals who apply scientific principles to design, build, and maintain structures, machines, or systems. The video highlights the importance of engineers at Facebook, who are responsible for taking the company into the future. The company is hiring engineers at a staggering rate, and they play a crucial role in both fixing issues and growing the business.

💡Meta Platforms, Inc.

Meta Platforms, Inc. is the parent company of Facebook, which was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The video discusses the company's mission and its focus on creating communities that can make a difference in the world. The term 'Meta' is used to illustrate the broader vision of the company beyond just Facebook.

💡Revenue

Revenue refers to the total amount of money received by a business from its sales of goods or services. The script mentions that Facebook has a revenue of over fifty-five billion dollars, indicating the company's financial strength and its ability to attract top talent and invest in innovation.

💡Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of seeking, hiring, and appointing suitable candidates for jobs. The video describes Facebook's unique approach to recruitment, where new employees are called 'noobs' and go through a 6-week boot camp. This process helps new hires understand the company's various departments and allows them to choose where they want to work, ensuring they are engaged with problems they care about.

💡Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback is a type of feedback that is intended to help someone improve their performance or behavior. The video emphasizes that at Facebook, feedback is given in a way that is constructive, not just to show intelligence, but to genuinely help others grow and improve. This approach is part of the company's culture of supporting employee development.

💡Social Value

Social value refers to the worth of something to society, often in terms of its contribution to social welfare. The video discusses how every product decision at Facebook is tuned to do good in the world, highlighting the company's focus on creating social value through their products and services.

Highlights

The organization encourages risk-taking and embraces failure.

Every few months, each office holds a 24-hour hackathon to foster innovation.

The like button was developed during one of these hackathons.

All employees have two birthdays, their own and their 'face-versary'.

Bring your family to work days and pride events are organized to inspire the workforce.

Celebrities are invited to inspire employees.

The company has a small village with free bikes, shops, and an arcade.

The company is hiring more engineers at an unprecedented rate.

In the last year, over 10,000 people were hired, with 50 new engineers arriving in London each week.

The company is set to double in the next few years, relying on new engineers.

Feedback is given in a constructive manner, focusing on improvement rather than showing off.

The company's primary goal is to create communities, not just make money.

Revenue is over fifty-five billion dollars, allowing the company to attract top engineers.

New employees are called 'noobs' and go through a 6-week boot camp.

Noobs can choose where they work, ensuring they tackle problems they care about.

Departments have to pitch to prospective employees to attract them.

Engineers are the ones driving change, unlike in other companies where managers typically lead.

Every small change made at the company can have a significant impact due to its scale.

Transcripts

[Music]

this is an organization that rewards

risk and embraces failure

[Music]

every few months each office get

together for their own 24-hour lock-in

where staff are encouraged to innovate

and try new ideas it's what they call a

hackathon and it's how they came up with

the like button coding it's like cooking

big man you work for hours to find the

perfect recipe and once you found it

bingo you sell it to the world at

Facebook all employees have two

birthdays their own and their face

versary which they celebrate each year

there at the company they have bring

your family to work days pride events

and they get celebrities in to inspire

the workforce

they even have a small village with

bikes shops and an arcade everything is

free so everyone can focus on connecting

the world to help fix the scale of the

problems that have been exposed they're

hiring more engineers at a staggering

rate these are the people who will be

responsible for taking Facebook into the

future today they're being initiated

into the unique culture in the last year

they've hired more than 10,000 people

every week 50 new engineers arrived in

London hello everyone this is Raymond

from China and I will be joined at

London office as a software engineer hi

my name is marina I join in in London

originally Russia with the company set

to double in the next few years

it's these engineers they're now relying

on to fix things as well as grow the

business when we say this is now your

company we really mean it this isn't

just any other company this is now your

company so it's in your hands to make

this company better or worse when we

give feedback we give feedback in a way

that is constructive and it's not just

showing that you are the smartest person

in the room we do talk about feedback

being a gift but we don't believe in

being ourselves and that's like it's

straight up we just we don't tolerate

decks everything we do we're doing to

connect people and we're doing to try

and bring social value in that

connection that means that every product

decision that we make is tuned for does

it do good in the world we're not a

company that's designed to make money

we're a company that's designed to

create communities and let those

communities make a difference in the

world

we think about money as a secondary

thing

with a revenue of over fifty five

billion dollars Facebook have the power

to scoop up the best engineers on the

planet with their own unique approach to

recruitment new employees are called

noobs and go through a 6-week boot camp

where they're introduced to the many

departments to know exactly where your

eyes are and that allows you to actually

superimpose funny glasses anything you

really wanted most noobs don't apply for

a specific job they're allowed to choose

where they work it's supposed to make

sure they end up taking on problems they

care about most but it means each

department has to pitch to prospective

employees it's an unfortunate fact that

there are a lot of people were trying to

reach out to minors on all kinds of

platforms including ours for

inappropriate purposes they also have to

worry about all kinds of things where

people give signals on the platform that

something terrible might happen

the most interesting thing here is just

the mindset is completely different

engineers are the ones driving the

change whereas in other companies

usually it's the managers get passing

the change downwards it's a big

difference I have to get used to it you

know it's Facebook so everything you do

here is in such scale whatever small

change you make it's gonna reach so many

people you need to think how you make

well it's kind of a cliche but the

impact

big smiles three two one

[Music]